More bins to boost anti-litter campaign

Nuala Naughton

A high school’s anti-litter campaign was boosted this week with a promise of more bins around litter blackspots.

The Extra reported last week of litter bugs and flytipping near Bellahouston Academy, with food waste attracting vermin and some places no-go areas for pupils on health and safety grounds.

Now, Glasgow City Council has promised more bins and warned of fines for anyone caught littering or fly-tipping in the area.

A spokeswoman for the council said: “I can tell you that new bins have been programmed in to be sited by 5.3.15 [today, Thursday].

“Two will be on Gower St near the shops and another two will be sited on Clifford St as you come off the bridge.”

Teacher Bushra Nizam said: “That’s great news. The situation was becoming intolerable and we appealed to the council for more bins or more frequent collections.”

However Ms Nizam warned that, while more bins are a positive step forward, more has to be done to make littering an antisocial habit.

She said: “We have an active litter campaign under the Bella Bee Tidy banner and regular litter pick-ups but people need to take responsibility for their bad habits.

“This is not just an issue for the school and we’re delighted that the council is working with us to resolve the problem.”

Head teacher Ian Anderson said: “There’s no room for this kind of behaviour. The debris of household waste deposited randomly poses a serious health and safety risk.

A statement on the Scottish government website reads: “We work closely with community wardens, schools and local businesses to tackle litter hot-spots.

“Community wardens will issue £50 on-the-spot fixed penalty notices to people caught littering our streets. And flytippers face a £200 fine. Tackling these problems costs £53million per year of public money.

“Littered items such as plastic bottles and aluminium cans could also be worth £1.2 million when recycled.

“Designing waste out of products and services, and recycling materials that might otherwise become litter and flytipping, protects natural resources and helps to reduce harmful greenhouse gases.”

Last week, pupils from the school were out and about with teachers and community workers on a regular litter pick-up.